Tomopiia is a platform that helps patients with chronic illnesses track their care and communicate directly with nurses.

“The pandemic opened up a whole new world for me to connect to others and new people, new doctors and new nurses virtually,” said Junichiro. “I was able to connect with nurses globally; some were in Hong Kong, Italy, and even the United States. Connecting with nurses globally wouldn’t have been possible if the world was not fully remote. It was interesting and exciting. I thought, ‘this change is a chance.’ The pandemic is terrible and it isolated people. But for me and for my business, it opened up a new window of opportunity.”

This new opportunity became even more apparent when patients became hesitant to visit doctor’s offices and hospitals during the pandemic. Patients with chronic illnesses who had been discharged from the hospital were still seeking advice and regular check-ins from medical professionals. Tomopiia met that need by providing short-term, fee-based consultative support from nurses. Through this service, patients could now gain a more personalized care plan and support system without having to leave their homes.

“The pandemic provided me many new opportunities. The Japanese medical market is a very closed and conservative market. Doctors and hospitals are reluctant to partner elsewhere or start their own practices. Now, there are new policies that take into account telemedicine and remote access to healthcare that gives new access to all sorts of patients. It’s the perfect chance to change a system and provide a new service to patients.”

Junichiro’s optimism and expansive empathy as an entrepreneur is inspiring. After meeting with countless patients, doctors, nurses, and others associated with the hospital industry, he was able to create a platform that allowed for longer-term care. Tomopiia released their MVP in April 2021 and has been actively onboarding new nurses and patients to join the platform. This rapid growth has evolved how Junichiro views himself and what’s important to him as leader of a venture.

Shigemura is quick to recognize that his success is not only his. He frequently shares gratitude for his team, nurses, customers, and all of those who have helped inspire, and mentor him throughout his journey. While he is guiding the vision, its the people who make Tomopiia successful that he considers his extended team.

“Before, I thought I could do everything by myself. But one person alone isn’t enough. When a team has goals and skills that complement each other, then the leader can have principles and show the vision to delegate to their staff. A solid team is the most important thing. It is essential to have companions who are committed to sharing goals together. Ideas are important of course. But the team is the most important.”

“My Moon Mates give me inspiration and many opportunities to think about new perspectives. For example, Chiyun Yeh (Yo) gives me many things, not only on design, but her perspective and personal opinion. Many of my colleagues and Moon Mates give me inspiration. Moon’s CEO, Kaichi, is my senpai - he gives me good advice. I’m a very lucky man.“

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response in the first round of user testing, Tomopiia is currently in their second round of collecting applications from potential users. You can learn more and even register for yourself at: www.tomopiia.com